The Czech government has decided not to sell light combat aircraft to Ukraine, Tomio Okamura, the leader of the far-right party of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ruling coalition and speaker of the Czech parliament, told reporters on Monday, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
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Tomio Okamura, head of the SPD party, criticized Ukraine's proposal to buy the aircraft, which President Petr Pavel announced last weekend. Babiš said on Monday that a decision had not yet been made, but the defense minister informed the cabinet that the army would need these aircraft, the publication writes.
Okamura argued that purchasing L-159 replacements for the Air Force would cost Prague more than it would earn from selling domestic aircraft to Ukraine.
This is the latest example of a clash between the president, a former NATO general who is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and Babiš's new government, which criticizes the European Union's policy on arming Ukraine, the publication notes.
Shortly after the billionaire prime minister came to power, Pavel urged him to lead the government with a "constructive" approach to NATO and Ukraine.
At the same time, while Babiš continues his campaign against austerity policies, he has changed course to support the country's efforts to continue supplying ammunition to Ukraine and has shown pragmatism in communicating with other EU leaders, softening the influence of far-right coalition partners on his administration, the publication writes.